Sunday, September 12, 2010

That was such a terrible loss (Gophers vs. South Dakota), I don't even know where to begin. Ok, I do. Barring a miraculous run, there is no way Tim Brewster should be back for his fifth year. I know the players on the field are the ones who ultimately decide wins and losses, and Brewster can't be blamed for the amount of open receivers Adam Weber missed or the key drops by receivers, but there is a lot here that falls directly on the coaching staff. The inability to stop a slant route? Allowing a Division I-AA QB in his second career start to go 21-30 for 352 yards? To get sucked in over and over by a simple screen pass? These things are all preparation related and are the responsibility of the coaches. And don't even get me started on somehow shifting away from the pound the ball philosophy that won the game vs. Middle Tennessee. Once again, the Gophers had the size and strength advantage, but instead of exploiting it to their advantage as they did last week, they drifted away from their strength and it cost them.

It would be one thing if it was a fluke, with the Coyotes winning due to a few lucky plays and some breaks going their way, but it wasn't. It was basically a domination, with USD in control the whole way. First off, they scored 41 freaking points, and they don't exactly run one of those goofy high-scoring spread offenses. They gained 444 yards, averaged nearly 12 yards per pass attempt, and converted 50% of their third downs. Most of all, once they took the lead at 7-3 with 8:09 remaining in the first quarter, they never relinquished the lead. In the second quarter when the Gophers cut the lead to 14-10 USD responded by going on an 8-play drive ending in a touchdown. In the third quarter the Gophers cut the lead to 28-24. The Coyotes immediately went on a 7-play drive, again ending in a TD. When the Gophers made it 34-30 in the fourth, hey scored on the next drive yet again. Finally, when the Gophers cut it to 41-38 with three minutes left, South Dakota didn't just sit on the ball, run it up the middle, and try to take the clock down. They took it right at the Gophers, knowing they couldn't stop them through the air, completed two passes for first downs, and won the game. They were in control the entire way.

Perhaps the worst thing about this loss and biggest indictment of the Brewster regime is that nobody could possibly be surprised by this loss. I mean think about it. Say you didn't watch the game and hadn't heard the result, and then your friend called you up and said the Gophers lost to South Dakota; what would be your reaction? Mild disbelief? At worst? Maybe a sarcastic "shut up" but not with any real conviction behind it? And how hard would he have to reassure you he was telling the truth? Repeat himself once? This isn't surprising at all, it's merely the logic product of four years of moving backwards. The loss to Florida Atlantic, the loss to NDSU, the near loss to SDSU, the two-safeties collapse against Wisconsin, and 55-0 vs. Iowa were all just preludes to this: the lowest moment in Gopher football history that I can remember being alive for, something Brewster has been on a beeline for the last couple of years.

Look, I get it. You took a chance on an unproven guy who talked a great game and was undeniably enthusiastic about the school and the job. The problem was he was all talk and no walk, all flash and no substance, all sizzle and no steak. Mediocre recruiting, poor fundamentals, an inability to put together and/or stick to a gameplan on either side of the ball, and a constantly shifting offensive identity isn't going to get it done at this level, and after four years I think we can safely assume that's still what we're going to get, so it's time to go.

Although it now looks like the absolute upside on wins this season is going to be four, so I don't think Maturi is going to have much of a choice but to can him. The real question is, do we trust him to hire somebody better?

2 comments:

The Todd
said...

This weekend should be a doozie against USC. I heard on KFAN this morning that someone (or some of) on the USC coaching staff applied for the head coaching spot here that Brewster got. So they're basically not going to hold back at all and just run up the score.

I see 2, if they can beat NIU, which almost beat ISU (threw a pic 6 while driving to tie game in 4th quarter), which beat the gophers last year in the bowl game.

Doesn't matter. Coaching matters in college football. It's one of the few sports where it truly does. Sure there are the 15-20 programs that are going to be good regardless of the coach, but these other teams that spike up and become good, all have good coaches.

I just wish that Brew was already gone so we could start figuring out who the next loser head coach is going to be.